Tax cuts and buoyant demand led U.S. airlines to strong fourth-quarter profits, but investors looked warily at plans to add flights while costs are rising. American Airlines Group Inc. intends to expand capacity up to 3% in 2018 by adding flights to smaller markets and more flights to existing destinations.

True to 2018 form, U.S. stocks are firmly higher early Friday, rising after a strong batch of quarterly earnings reports. In the process, each widely-tracked U.S. benchmark has extended its rally to record territory, building on an already statistically unusual technical breakout.

Delta Air Lines Inc. reported rising sales as the company continued to benefit from higher fares despite dealing with the fallout from a December power outage at its main airport in Atlanta that caused over 1,000 cancellations.

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. shot up 3.7% in premarket trade Thursday, after the air carrier reported fourth-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations. Net income for the quarter to Dec. 31 fell to $572 million, or 80 cents a share, from $622 million, or 84 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 96 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 88 cents. The company recognized a one-time charge of $150 million during the quarter as a result of tax reform legislation. Total revenue rose 8% to $10.25 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $10.13 billion, amid a 7% rise in total passenger revenue and a 18% jump in other revenue. Load factor improved to 85.2% from 85.1%. Looking ahead, the company expects first-quarter total unit revenue growth of 2.5% to 4.5%. The stock has rallied 5.3% over the past three months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has gained 3.3% and the S&P 500 has climbed 7.6%.

Delta Air Q4 EPS 80 cents vs. 84 cents a year ago

Lands' End Inc. said Monday that it has a new store concept that will launch in Chicago this year with plans to open four-to-six other locations. Over the next five years, the company will open between 40 and 60 stores. Lands' End has about 180 locations in Sears Holdings Corp. stores, according Jerome Squire Griffith, Lands' End chief executive, in a FactSet transcript of his presentation at the ICR Conference. "As you know, the Sears store group is continuing to close stores and our numbers continue to go down," he said. We will not be really relying on Sears in the future for growth for us." Sears announced 100 store closures, including Kmart, last week. "[I]t's our expectation that our Sears business at a point in time will go away and that we'll be talking directly to the consumer through out own stores." Besides stores, Lands' End plans to extend its reach through a partnership with The Weather Channel. "The Weather Channel has a core consumer attribute that is exactly the same as Lands' End with many more customers than what we have," said Griffith. Finally, Lands' End Outfitters, the company's uniform arm which generates about two-thirds of its business, according to Griffith, has a new customer, Delta Air Lines Inc. , which is also the company's biggest client. Lands' End shares are up nearly 2% in Tuesday trading, and up 47.7% for the last three months. The S&P 500 index is up 8.4% for the past three months.

Delta Air Lines Inc. is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Thursday. The carrier last week reaffirmed its operating margin expectation even though its pretax income took a hit of up to $50 million from a December power outage at the Atlanta airport that led to 1,400 flight cancellations.

Canadian companies operating abroad will soon have to deal with a watchdog empowered to investigate human-rights abuses and publicly disclose its findings, raising the risk of reputation damage, said lawyers.

In a setback for Boeing Co., a U.S trade panel rejected the aerospace giant’s complaint that it was harmed by subsidies to Bombardier Inc., effectively blocking a Trump administration proposal for steep tariffs against the Canadian jet maker.

Some of the biggest U.S. companies are promising significant annual savings, bigger pension contributions, higher dividend payments and more extensive stock buybacks as executives start to discuss the impact of the federal tax overhaul.

Significant legal decisions surrounding the U.S. False Claims Act are proliferating, lawyers say, as the courts thrash out the implications of a Supreme Court ruling that offered benefits to both plaintiffs and defendants.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced on Valentine's Day that the company is set to pay out more than $1 billion in profit sharing to its employees as part of its continued program to spread the wealth. Other U.S. airline firms also joined the party, and at the moment, this trend seems to be a sign of strength and stability in the industry.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) has released its public equity holdings as of December 31, 2017. As Warren Buffett still runs Berkshire Hathaway and as he is one of the richest men alive, Buffett is also considered to be one of the greatest investors of the modern era. Maybe that means his stock picks and [ ]

Delta Air Lines Inc.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. engages in the provision of scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo. It operates through the folllowing segments: Airline, Refinery, and Other. The Airline segment provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo. The Refinery segment consists of jet fuel and non-jet fuel products. The Other segment comprises of other activities. The company was founded by Collett Everman Woolman in 1928 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
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